True Love Never Dies (a Clato fanfiction)
by NekoNinjaXx
Summary: Everyone says that Katniss and Peeta were the star crossed lovers of the 74th annual hunger games, but were they the only ones? read this story to find out about Cato and Clove's lovestruck journey into the arena... will they get out alive? or will their new found love get in the way of their victory...
1. Chapter 1

**-~ Chapter 1 ~-**

**~- Clove's POV -~**

I am woken from my sleep by the annoying buzz of my alarm clock, I groan and slam the palm of my hand hard onto the machine to make it stop. I force myself to sit up and I rub my eyes in a poor attempt to drag myself out of my tired state. A few strands of loose hair fall in front of my face and I push them back as I walk silently to the bathroom for a shower.

I turn on the water and it runs cold, as always. That's the thing about living in the poorer part of district 2; you have to choose between warm water or food to keep you going for the week. I wash the remaining shampoo out of my hair, turn off the water and wrap myself in a towel. I walk back into my room to get dressed and take a look at the clock. Training starts in 20 minutes! I throw my towel onto the floor and put my clothes on as quickly as possible. _Why didn't mum remind me of the time?! _I think as I run down the stairs whilst tying my hair up in a make-do ponytail. I sprint into the kitchen to grab a snack when I find a note on the table: 'Gone shopping for food, be back later –mum'. _Well that explains why she didn't call me down earlier _I think to myself as I run out the door with an apple in my hand.

While I'm running to the training center I spot a strange looking bird perched in a tree that's singing a tune that seemed to perfect to be its natural call; I think I've heard of this bird before but I can't quite remember it's name… it's called a mocking-something, and it mimics a tune that it has heard recently. I find myself completely entranced by this bird, so entranced that I didn't notice the boy walking in front of me. I run straight into the back of him and his muscular build is so large I may as well have run into a brick wall.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" he spat while rubbing his shoulder, which I guess, took most of the impact.

"S-sorry!" I yell back as I keep running towards the training center.

I guess I should have stopped to see if he's ok and apologize properly but I don't have much time left before training starts and I would rather not be late when there's only 2 weeks until the reaping; I wouldn't say I'm scared, I just want to make sure that I'm ready incase my name is picked out and for some reason the volunteer fails to do their job. That's how training works in district 2; they take a large group of children and train them from the age of 10 years old and when they are 18 the most promising student of the group is picked to volunteer at the reaping.

I burst through the front door of the training center and sign in at the front desk. I run to the weaponry hall where I find the rest on my group standing around my instructor while he gives commands on what we are doing today. My instructor is an absolute bulk of a man called Valdus, even his features suggest that he is strict, especially his piercing blue eyes. I try to be stealthy but nothing much gets by him and he spots me almost instantly. He looks at his watch,

"Cutting it a bit close today, aren't we Clove?" he calls out to me.

"Sorry" I call back and he signals for me to join the rest of the group.

"Today I want you all to go to the stations you are best at, so that I can assess you fairly on your skills" he says, we all begin to split up and walk towards our favored station when he says "oh, and any fights will lead to a detention" some people groan a little and I make my way over to my favorite station, the knife station.

Knives have always been my favorite weapon because they are small and deadly, like me. I pick up a few knives and throw them at the targets in front of me. Each of them hit the center of their chosen target; I've been good with knives for as long as I can remember and I never miss. I smirk at the slightly worried looks on some of my onlooker's faces. _I bet I could beat every single one of these pathetic lo- _my thoughts are disrupted by the sound of my instructors voice at the back of the room.

"Oh, look who decided to show up" he says "You're late yet again, Cato"

I turn to see who he's talking to, and to my surprise, the boy I ran into this morning is standing in the doorway of the training hall. I now realize how massive he is, he must be at least 6"2' and his muscle mass is very large for someone of his age. He shrugs and begins to walk over to the sword station, his eyes scanning the room. His eyes fall on mine, and a sign of recognition registers on his face. He stops walking for a second to glare at me. I look away and continue to throw knives at the targets, hoping he will just ignore what happened earlier; I really should apologize…

**~- Cato's POV -~**

I walk into the weaponry hall where the rest of my class are and I am greeted by my instructor complaining at me for being late again. I shrug it off and begin to walk over to the swords station; I look over the room briefly to see if there is anything interesting happening when I spot the girl who ran into me earlier this morning. I stop walking and stare her down; she looks away and throws a few knives at the targets ahead of her. I keep walking to the swords station where I find my friend Ekon who is already training.

"What was that about?" he asked,

"What?" I replied.

"You glaring at that girl over there" He said pointing directly at her

"That crazy bitch ran straight into me earlier" I grumbled, touching the bruise that has formed on my shoulder, "I was just letting her know that she hasn't got away with it."

Ekon sniggers and continues slashing at a few dummies while I try to think up a way of getting my revenge on her. I looked over at her; she really is so small. _How did she even get into this training group?_ I think to myself, but then I see her throw a knife directly into the center of a target from at least 20' away. _Impressive, but I can do better with a sword. _I slash the heads off two dummies in one swing and stick my sword right in the heart of the next.

I turn to look at the girl, expecting to see her terrified face; but she's gone. I look over the room quickly but I can't see her so I shrug and raise my sword to slash another dummy. I hear someone clear their throat, so I turn around to see that she is standing right behind me. I jump back and raise my sword ready to slash when she kicks it out of my hand; I grab her leg and flip her onto the floor. She tries to get up but I pin her down easily and I am about to bring my sword to her neck when she flips us both around so she is pinning me to the floor. _How did she do that when she weight almost nothing?! _She pulls a knife out of her hair and puts it to my throat when Valdus pulls her off me and stands between us.

"Cato, Clove what did I say about fighting?!" He barked "detention for both of you after class!"

"B-but" we both debate, although it's useless.

"No Buts" he says "Clove go back to your station, you guys need to get through the day in one piece okay?" and with that, he walks back over to the middle of the room. Well at least I know what the girls name is; Clove…

**~- Clove's POV -~**

_ A detention! That's just bloody brilliant! I can't believe I was actually going to apologize to that asshole and the moment he sees me he raises his sword to attack me! Now I have to go to detention with him and that's never going to end well... _I think as I throw knives at the targets, pretending each of them is him. I smirk as the knives hit dead center of their targets and I pull them out slowly, a little disappointed that there is no cry of pain. I continue like this for about 20 minutes when the bell rings.

_Oh no… time for detention with that absolute blockhead. _Everyone else starts to walk towards the door and I grunt as I walk over to the middle of the room to meet Valdus and The blockhead, _I'm just gonna call him that until i find out his actual name..._

"well" sighs Valdus "I did try to warn you not to fight but since you persist on going against what I say I am going to issue you a punishment"

"In my defense, I wasn't here when you said that.," argued the blockhead,

"Well that gives you more reason to show up on time, Cato" snarls Valdus. _Oh so that's his name, Cato._

Cato grunts and Valdus continues.

"As a punishment for your actions, you will be polishing every weapon until it shines. And only after you finish, you can go home" He chortles

"What?!" me and Cato cry in sync

"Stop complaining, you brought it on yourselves" Valdus says whilst handing us cleaning liquid and rags "why were you even fighting?"

"She snuck up behind me and made me jump" Cato says innocently,

"He raised his sword to attack me so I was only defending myself" I retort just as innocently,

"Oh please" he claims, "you're the one who held a knife to my throat!"

"Not before you held a sword to mine" I respond quickly

"Guys, you better stop arguing and start polishing if you want to get home any time soon" Valdus calls. We both let out a sigh of frustration and grab a weapon to polish.

"Why were you even behind me?" Cato asks after a short silence,

"Because I was going to apologize for running into you earlier, but I didn't get as far as that before being attacked" I stated.

"oh…. Sorry. And my shoulder still hurts from that by the way" he smirks

"I don't usually run into people like that but I was running a little late and I got distracted" I snigger. Cato looks up at me and then smiles.

"An i don't usually go to attack someone like that, i thought you were trying to attack me... I guess we're even then," he says

"We're even" I confirm. Maybe he's not as much of an asshole as i thought... I look up at his face and realise what a stunning blue color his eyes are, it's like they've trapped my gaze and I don't want to look away but eventually I have to or he will think I'm just staring at him like some freak.

...

A lot of chatting and polishing later we were finally excused from detention, we both breath a sigh of relief and throw our "cleaning equipment", _also known as a rag and some soapy water,_ into the supplies closet. We walked side by side on the way back to our homes and chatted about the reaping; it turns out that Cato will be volunteering to go into the games this year, and judging by his fighting skills I have no doubt that he will be end up being District 2's newest victor. We continue to walk until we get to my road, i give him a quick wave goodbye and start walking towards my house.

** That's the end of chapter 1 :P i hope you like it, don't worry i will make it better as the story progresses! its just not easy making it brilliant on the very first chapter because you don't want the story to move too fast! Don't forget to leave reviews and constructive criticism is always welcomed and i will do my best to put it to good use on my newest chapters! ^_^ Thanks again for reading! *mwah***

** ~NekoNinjaXx **


	2. Chapter 2

**~- Clove's POV -~**

The moment I opened the front door I hear my mother's voice calling out to me,

"Where have you been?!" she cries "You had me worried sick!" I guess she had every right to be worried because after my father died in a freak explosion in the factory he worked in; I have been all she has left.

"I got a detention" I reply,

"Why? What did you do?!" she questions,

"I got in a fight with some guy at training, but its all sorted out now" I say.

"Oh, are you okay?" she asks,

"I'm fine" I reply.

"Dinner's almost finished cooking so go and get dressed quickly and I will call you down when it's ready" she says

"Okay" I call back as I walk up the stairs. I walk up to my room and change into my normal clothes; I look at myself in the mirror. I really do look a lot like my mother; long dark hair, pale skin the only difference is my eyes which instead of being green like my mothers, they are a very dark shade of brown like my fathers were. I think of Cato's amazingly crystal blue eyes and how I couldn't stop staring at them. _No one in my family has blue eyes, _I think to myself._ My mothers green eyes are very pretty but they are still nothing compared to Cato's- _mymother calling me for dinner cuts off my thoughts and I rush downstairs to join her.

**~- Cato's POV -~**

Clove waves a quick goodbye to me as she turns down her road and I keep walking towards my house. When I finally get home, I open the door and I am welcomed by my father shouting.

"Where have you been you stupid boy?!" he yells,

"Sorry, I was in detention" I reply

"Detention?!" my mother gasps "what did you do?!"

"I got into a fight with this girl, nothing serious" I say

"Well this is just brilliant" my father barks "now how do you expect to be chosen to volunteer if you keep breaking the rules?!"

"I already have been chosen to volunteer dad, I was chosen 3 weeks ago remember?" I reply, slightly aggravated, "oh wait of course you don't, because you were probably drunk when I told you!"

"Cato! Do not talk to your father like that! And how do you expect to win the games if you keep messing around during your training classes?!" my mother hisses.

"Whatever, I'm going having a shower" I call back while walking up to my room.

My parents, both being victors themselves, will never appreciate me as their child until I win the games. It's all about winning with them, they're always going on about how I have to win so I 'bring pride to my district' and 'build up a confident personality" but I know that really all they care about is the money they will be getting if I win. When I was younger they would constantly go on holidays to the Capitol to have a spending spree and leave me here with my crazed aunt who may as well have not been there at all because all she did was sleep.

I turn on the shower, put my head under the warm spray and wash myself over. I wince as I touch the bruise on my shoulder; I had completely forgotten about that_. I wonder what Clove is doing now, _I think to myself, _no Cato stop thinking about her, she's just some girl that you met today. _I shake my head to clear it of all thoughts and step out of the shower. I walk to my room and slip on some comfy clothes and lie down on my bed; there's a knock on my bedroom door.

"What?" I call to whoever it is on the other side of the door,

"Dinners ready and we're going to watch a recap of last years games, come down when you're ready" says my mother, and with that, she walks back downstairs.

I sit up and groan; I really can't be bothered to watch another recap of the games. I walk downstairs and hear my mother and father rooting for their favorite tributes. _It's disgusting, _I think while picking up my plate from the table._ Its almost as if they don't know that they are going to die but to be honest, my parents have watched so many recaps of the games they probably know the exact order of who dies first through to who dies last._

I carry on walking back to the stairs while carrying my plate, I try to be quiet but considering my size that has never really been my strongpoint.

"Aren't you coming to watch?" says my father ignorantly.

"Nah, I'm kind of tired and I want to rest so I have lot's of energy for tomorrow" I lie,

"Suit yourself," he replies with a mouthful of food.

I roll my eyes and continue walking up to my room where I eat my dinner and relax for a while. My mind backtracks through my day, but I can't stop thinking about clove. _Just don't think about her! How hard can that be Cato?! _I shake my head angrily and try to think about other things, but nothing works. My eyes eventually start to feel heavy and I fall to sleep…

...

The small glimmers of light that are shining through my partly opened curtains are what wake me up early this morning. I groan and drag myself out of bed_;_ I walk to my cupboard and put on my training clothes._ I might actually make and effort to get to training on time today_ I think as I walk down the stairs to grab a quick snack before setting out for training.

I walk into the kitchen to find my father sitting at the table; he almost looks as if he has been waiting for me.

"Morning" I say dimly, he just glares at me slightly and sighs.

"You better work hard today" he says "No son of mine will be going into that arena unprepared"

"Whatever" i say dismissively as i begin to walk to the front door

"Well come back a victor, or don't come back at all" he snarls

"That is kind of what the hunger games is all about dad" I say arrogantly whilst rolling my eyes. He replies with a huff and walks out of the kitchen. I grab a piece of toast and walk out of the front door.

While I am on my way to the training centre I think about what my dad said before. _come back a victor or don't come back at all,_ I knew he didn't exactly love me but now it's obvious that I'm just a pawn to him. I sigh and look up to see a figure walking just ahead of me, I almost instantly recognise her dark hair and realise it's Clove.

**~- Clove's POV -~**

I leave my house and start walking towards the training centre when I hear someone call my name. I turn around to see Cato jogging towards me,

"Hey Clove" he says as he slows down to walk beside me

"Hi Cat" I say "'I can call you that right?"

"Sure thing Clover" he says with a smirk. _Clover..._ _I like that_ I think, I've never really had a nickname before, well, I have never really had many friends before because i have a short-temper and some people seem to be scared to approach me. But Cato isn't... Considering his size, he has no need to be.

We walk in next to each other chatting until we get to the training centre. We walk inside, signed in at the front desk and then walked to the training hall where we find a small portion of our group doing some early morning training. Valdus looks over to us and he looks almost shocked when he sees Cato, He checks his watch and then back at Cato.

"Well well" He purrs, "I never thought I would see the day you got here early Cato"

"I woke up early and had nothing better to do" Cato shrugs and Valdus just smirks and shakes his head slightly in amusement.

I walk over to the Knife station and start throwing knives, while Cato walks over to the sword station and starts showing off by slashing a few dummies' heads off. We carry on like this for about 10 minutes while the rest of my group arrive and then Valdus calls us over. We group around him to hear our instructions for today.

"Today I want you all to try and learn how to wield a new weapon so that if your preferred weapon is not in the arena you have at least one fallback" He says. I groan quietly to myself, I have never really been very good at using any other weapons than knives. We start to split up and many people rush over to the stations they desperately want to try. I look over the room; most of the stations are full except the knife station, the sword station and the axe station. _Great _I think_ I already know how to use knives and there's no way I can pick up an axe! That just leaves the sword station..._

I sigh and walk over to the sword station where Valdus is speaking to Cato about something, when they eventually finish Cato turns to me and smirks,

"You just can't keep yourself away from me can you Clover?" he laughs,

"Don't flatter yourself" I smirk "this is the only good station that isn't full, which reminds me, shouldn't you be at a different station?"

"Nah" he responds "I already know how to use a sword and a spear so Valdus said to stay here and coach others. Grab a sword and we'll start" I roll my eyes and try to pick up the sword that is closest to me but it is far too heavy and I end up straining myself to lift it an inch off the ground. Cato laughs and picks it up with one hand and points to a smaller one hanging on the shelf by my head.

"Try that one," he says "It's made of a much lighter metal and its smaller so it... suits you" I give him a look and he just laughs. I pick up the sword and it is a lot lighter than the other one.

"Ok, slice that dummies arm off" He says whilst pointing at a dummy ahead of me. I take a deep breath and swing the sword at the dummy; the sword lodges itself in the middle of the dummies arm but does not go completely through. I try to pull out the sword but it is completely stuck.

"Try twisting your wrist and putting more downward pressure on the sword" Cato says, I twist my wrist and push down hard on the sword and sure enough, it moves the rest of the way through the dummies arm. I smile and look up at Cato who just claps and smiles back.

"Now try to cut its head off," he says with a smirk "you might need a slightly heavier sword though" He grabs a sword off the shelf and hands it to me, its a little heavier than the other but I can still use it. I take another deep breath and draw the sword back, apparently a little too quickly as its weight pulls me back with it and I lose my balance. I feel myself falling backwards, I close my eyes and brace myself for the contact with the floor but it never happens. I open my eyes to see Cato who has his huge arms under my back, supporting me. I feel my cheeks instantly start to heat and I look in the other direction so that he doesn't see.

**~- Cato's POV -~**

I acted on impulse! I saw her fall backwards so I caught her before she hurt herself! What else was I supposed to do?! I- _Wait, is she blushing? _I can't tell because she's looking away from me now.I put her back on her feet and she looks up at me, then she looks down to the floor and murmurs something incomprehensible,

"Huh?" I respond

"Thanks..." she says quietly

"Err... no problem" I reply awkwardly while I pick up the sword she dropped when she fell and handing it to her. She takes the sword and slashes at the dummies neck; the sword gets quite far before stopping and lodging itself about 3cm from the edge. She twists her wrist and the head of the dummy pops off and hits the floor with a 'thud'.

We continue training like this for the rest of the lesson and I teach her various attacks and fatal cuts but the aura between us is awkward. When the bell rings to signal the end of the day, Clove says a goodbye and leaves quickly; it looks like we won't be walking home together today then.

I walk home alone and ignore the usual nagging from my parents as I walk through the front door. I go straight upstairs to my room, change out of my training clothes and lie on my bed; I don't feel like eating dinner tonight so I try to go straight to sleep but there are so many thoughts floating around in my head that I know it's useless. _Does Clove hate me now? I could swear she was blushing... or was that just me? Will she be the same tomorrow or will things just go back to normal? _I grunt in frustration and put my pillow over my head in an attempt to block my thoughts. After what seemed like hours of frustration I finally fell to sleep.

...

**Well that was Chapter 2! I don't want to rush into all the lovey-dovey stuff yet so you will just have to be patient! I'm trying to develop their relationship steadily but its just so hard! I have decided to try and update and add a new chapter weekly so that it fits around school stuff. Please don't forget to leave reviews and constructive criticism is very much welcome! I will do my best to put it to good use throughout the story! Until next chapter ^_^**

**~NekoNinjaXx**


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